Date of Award
5-1993
Honors Thesis Number
6798
Major
Psychology
Abstract
The behavioral and cognitive differences among sexually abused children were investigated. A total of 19 Child Behavior Checklists were evaluated for distinguishing factors on the Internalizing, Externalizing, Attention Problems, and Thought Problems scales. First, the subjects were placed into two groups, those who had been victims of sexual abuse (SA) and those who had been victims of SA plus Other maltreatment (e.g., neglect, physical abuse, etc.). Only three subjects were found to be in the SA plus Other maltreatment group, so three subjects from the SA only group were selected for comparison based on age and sex. All were females and each group had an average age of 8.3. The Attention Problems scale was found to be statistically significant for those with the SA plus Other group. Second, of the 16 subjects in the SA group, two subgroups were formed using age as the independent variable. To look at groups having similar life experiences, the two youngest (ages 4 and 5) and the two oldest (ages 16 and 17) were excluded. Thus, the two groups were those aged 8-11 and those aged 12-15. The Thought Problems scale was discovered to be statistically significant for those aged 8-11.
Comments
Authors listed on Title Page: Sharla J. Schneider & James P. O'Donnell